Former teacher gets prison for hiding cameras to record disrobing students

Published: Monday, February 18, 2013 at 11:46 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 18, 2013 at 9:20 p.m.

DELAND -- A former Catholic school teacher proclaimed he was not a “monster” before being sentenced to five years in prison for secretly filming girls disrobing inside a classroom closet and then deleting some of the pictures.

Joshua Waguespack, a 34-year-old who taught eighth-grade math at St. Peter Catholic School in DeLand, was sentenced on Monday to the prison term followed by five years' probation by Circuit Judge Margaret W. Hudson.

Waguespack was arrested in April and committed the crimes before state law changed in July tripling the potential prison term for video voyeurism. Waguespack also won't have to register as a sex offender — which would have been required under the new law.

Hudson did attach some sex offender-type probation conditions, including prohibiting him from working at a school, park or library. She sentenced him to three years concurrent on each of the video charges followed by two years for tampering with evidence by deleting some pictures as police tried to investigate.

Waguespack, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, read from a statement that he recognized his mistake and that he had ruined his reputation and his career. He said he was sorry for the harm he had caused the girls, who a prosecutor said ranged in age from 9 to 12 years old.

“If it's of any consolation to any of them, the photographs obtained by law enforcement are the only photographs in existence and I never shared them with anyone,” Waguespack said.

He said hiding the cameras in the closet was “the worst decision” he ever made but added that he never intended to hurt the girls.

“I am not a monster,” Waguespack said.

He also said the girls were not filmed in the nude.

But prosecutor Erin Kelton said the only reason for that was because the girls kept their underwear on while changing clothes in the closet.

At the time of his arrest in April, video voyeurism was a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. But the law changed in July making video voyeurism a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and requiring registering as a sex offender. So instead of facing 45 years in prison on three counts of video voyeurism, Waguespack faced 15 years and another five years on the tampering with evidence.

Kelton read a statement from a parent asking that Waguespack be sentenced to 10 years in prison. Another parent took the stand to testify that her daughter's grade had been impacted and she was now uncomfortable in some classes and less social.

“As a mother I'm very sick to my stomach that this has all happened,” the woman said. “As a parent I failed to protect my child is what I feel.”

She said she had put her at St. Peter thinking it would be better.

“You put your child in a private school thinking that they are getting the best education and they are safe and then you find out that they are not when this all came to light,” the mother said.

Judge Hudson noted that Waguespack did not score prison time based on state guidelines and she said that she had to handle his sentencing based on the laws at the time he committed his crime.

The case began after Waguespack forgot his iPad in a shopping cart at Walmart in DeLand in April.

Waguespack had used an application on his iPhone to find his iPad and called police to help him get the computer back. But the person who found it alerted police to suspicious images. When police asked to check his iPad, Waguespack used his iPhone to delete images on his iPad as he stood before police. Police then checked his iPhone and found images of the school girls.

<p>DELAND -- A former Catholic school teacher proclaimed he was not a “monster” before being sentenced to five years in prison for secretly filming girls disrobing inside a classroom closet and then deleting some of the pictures. </p><p> Joshua Waguespack, a 34-year-old who taught eighth-grade math at St. Peter Catholic School in DeLand, was sentenced on Monday to the prison term followed by five years' probation by Circuit Judge Margaret W. Hudson. </p><p> Waguespack was arrested in April and committed the crimes before state law changed in July tripling the potential prison term for video voyeurism. Waguespack also won't have to register as a sex offender — which would have been required under the new law. </p><p> Hudson did attach some sex offender-type probation conditions, including prohibiting him from working at a school, park or library. She sentenced him to three years concurrent on each of the video charges followed by two years for tampering with evidence by deleting some pictures as police tried to investigate. </p><p> Waguespack, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, read from a statement that he recognized his mistake and that he had ruined his reputation and his career. He said he was sorry for the harm he had caused the girls, who a prosecutor said ranged in age from 9 to 12 years old. </p><p> “If it's of any consolation to any of them, the photographs obtained by law enforcement are the only photographs in existence and I never shared them with anyone,” Waguespack said. </p><p> He said hiding the cameras in the closet was “the worst decision” he ever made but added that he never intended to hurt the girls. </p><p> “I am not a monster,” Waguespack said. </p><p> He also said the girls were not filmed in the nude. </p><p> But prosecutor Erin Kelton said the only reason for that was because the girls kept their underwear on while changing clothes in the closet. </p><p> At the time of his arrest in April, video voyeurism was a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. But the law changed in July making video voyeurism a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and requiring registering as a sex offender. So instead of facing 45 years in prison on three counts of video voyeurism, Waguespack faced 15 years and another five years on the tampering with evidence. </p><p> Kelton read a statement from a parent asking that Waguespack be sentenced to 10 years in prison. Another parent took the stand to testify that her daughter's grade had been impacted and she was now uncomfortable in some classes and less social. </p><p> “As a mother I'm very sick to my stomach that this has all happened,” the woman said. “As a parent I failed to protect my child is what I feel.” </p><p> She said she had put her at St. Peter thinking it would be better. </p><p> “You put your child in a private school thinking that they are getting the best education and they are safe and then you find out that they are not when this all came to light,” the mother said. </p><p> Judge Hudson noted that Waguespack did not score prison time based on state guidelines and she said that she had to handle his sentencing based on the laws at the time he committed his crime. </p><p> The case began after Waguespack forgot his iPad in a shopping cart at Walmart in DeLand in April. </p><p> Waguespack had used an application on his iPhone to find his iPad and called police to help him get the computer back. But the person who found it alerted police to suspicious images. When police asked to check his iPad, Waguespack used his iPhone to delete images on his iPad as he stood before police. Police then checked his iPhone and found images of the school girls.</p>